Information Technology Management with a Purpose

We all complain about lack of resources when executing our plans. Manpower availability is always an issue and we wish we had the right manpower to complete our assignments on time or to take up new initiatives. During good times our people leave looking for greener pastures and at the same time recruiting new staff becomes so much more difficult.

The responsibility falls on CIOs and it depends on the way they manage their staffing. They sometimes are unable to deal with this issue adequately, either in the distribution of responsibilities or in deploying the right people on tasks or in their inability to get approval for additional manpower. Let me discuss a few steps that a CIO can take.

Organization structure: The CIO should define a proper organizational (org) structure for his department in keeping with the IT strategy and plans that he may have formulated. The org structure should be in line with organization’s strategy and business priorities and should be formalized and approved by the management. CIOs quite often prefer to stay put with the existing staff and work structure to maintain a status quo but this is what lands them in trouble. The new structure could be very different from what exists today and that would be the organization’s need. It would be inappropriate to start cutting, sieving and filling positions in haste as this could disturb the current work arrangement. The new structure is a statement of intent and a direction which CIOs should aim to move towards, repairing the structure over time so that they get to the final objective in a reasonable time.

Identifying right people in right positions: Even if they define a structure, it may still be a challenge to have the right people in the right roles. I am reminded of my experience when I shifted one of my colleagues from the development team to infrastructure management group despite his protests. This person later blossomed into a valuable asset as he was an action oriented person and a hands-on individual who would roll up his sleeves to set right any problem and he thought of new ways of strengthening the infrastructure. He would just have languished if he had stayed in his earlier position. Similar was the case when I moved a person from portal and content management work to regular SQL programming. In short, when a person gets a role that suits his temperament, he shows excellence.

Dealing with the wrong people: We sometimes find wrong people in our setup. These may either be people who are unqualified, or those who simply do not have the capability or those with wrong attitudes. I am reminded of the advice of Jim Collins in his book ‘How the mighty fall’ when he says that when on a journey, don’t carry the wrong people on the bus – they should be off-loaded. He further says, ‘Having wrong people in positions brings in bureaucracy and decline’. Taking a cue from this, I would say that CIOs should either relocate them or give them an honorable exit in the larger interest of the group.

Recruitment: When the necessary expertise is not available within, it is best to recruit new talent from outside. The recruitment process should be handled with due seriousness by laying down job description, the desired profile of the candidate and his reporting relationship. Candidate should be chosen after careful assessment of his technical skills, behavioral traits and his cultural suitability. A new person should be inducted for the long run.

Right staffing is therefore of utmost importance for the function to carry forward its program with confidence and to build capability to make an impact in the organization.

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About This Blog

The issue is not information technology, but management. Optimal utilization of technology and management, and IT/business alignment are the components of a successful strategy. Information technology management can be a tougher job than meets the eye, so here are some useful mantras for the CIO’s arsenal.